Virbhadra gets Sonia nod to become Himachal CM

Himachal Pradesh Congress leader Virbhadra Singh will be the next chief minister of the state. This was announced by party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi here on Saturday night.

Dwivedi said the party's three central observers - himself, general secretary Birender Singh and Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit - spoke to each MLA present at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting individually and conveyed to party president Sonia Gandhi that Virbhadra Singh enjoyed a thumping majority among the legislators.

Sources said 29 of the 34 legislators had held that Singh should be the CM.

"Soniaji has put her stamp of approval on Virbhadra Singh," Dwivedi said soon after the CLP unanimously adopted a resolution authorising Sonia Gandhi to name the CM.

Virbhadra Singh has been credited with leading the Congress to a slim but significant victory in the recent assembly elections in Himachal, where the party won 36 of 68 seats, relegating the ruling BJP to second place with 26 seats.

Singh was in competition for the chief minister's post with CLP leader Vidya Stokes and former state party president Kaul Singh Thakur but was seen as the front-runner soon after the election results were announced on Thursday.

The two MLAs who were not present at the meeting were former transport minister GS Bali who is hospitalised at Delhi's AIIMS with a foot injury and Doon MLA Ram Kumar who is wanted by the Haryana Police and stayed away, fearing arrest.

Most of the Congress supporters present outside the venue of the CLP meeting were Virbhadra Singh followers, sporting trademark green caps.

On Saturday, governor Urmila Singh dissolved the assembly, paving the way for constitution of a new House.